(A/N: Sorry the chapter's a bit late
I got food poisoning from the hotpot I had at my birthday dinner, and have been fighting for my life on my porcelain throne for the past few days.
Also, fair warning, I did do a bit of a time skip since I didn't want to split focus from the season one story of ZZZ.
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The days passed faster than either Void Hunter had expected, and soon the date of their training match arrived.
DING DONG
Ringing the doorbell of a large traditional Eastern estate, Illya, carrying a large duffel bag, waited patiently as the muffled sound of footsteps reverberated from behind the wooden door.
A pair of large fox ears was captured within Illya's line of sight, and a small smile developed on his lips.
Maintaining that friendly arc, Illya lowered his gaze and made eye contact with Miyabi.
Instead of her usual H.A.N.D. uniform, she was dressed more casually, wearing a V-neck knit sweater with a long tan skirt.
Miyabi's ears twitched slightly as she returned his smile with a small one of her own.
"It's nice to see you again, Senior."
"Likewise."
As Miyabi lowered her head and opened the door a little wider, inviting Illya inside, his brow furrowed slightly as he noticed something odd.
'Did she... Get shorter...? '
A solemn expression developed on his features as Illya curiously scanned the fox and realized that she wasn't wearing heels, a revelation that he wisely decided to keep to himself.
"Ahem~ Thank you for inviting me."
Regaining his composure, Illya nodded respectfully and entered the house.
"I set out a pair of slippers for you over there. Please make yourself at home."
She pointed towards an unexpectedly cute pair of beige cat-themed slippers.
"Ah- Thanks."
Ignoring the design, Illya took off his sneakers and slipped on the fuzzy slippers while Miyabi watched with a curious expression.
"Do they fit fine? I wasn't sure what size you were, so I guessed."
Illya nodded with a light smile.
"For a guess, I'd say you were pretty spot on- It fits perfectly."
Miyabi let out a relieved sigh and motioned for Illya to follow.
He obliged.
The two walked further into the house side by side, both occasionally glancing at each other's side profiles- Though the nature of their gaze was closer to appraisal than anything affectionate.
Miyabi had read in her Family's library that a master swordsman could gather a lot just by watching the way an opponent walked, and she was currently trying to find value in the teachings of one of her ancestors.
Illya was just trying to figure out how tall Miyabi actually was to satisfy his own curiosity.
Regardless, the silence was maintained as the two made their way to a large open training field in the centre of the Hoshimi estate.
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Miyabi drew in a deep breath and grasped Tailless, hanging the blade at her side.
To say that she had been looking forward to this training match was an understatement.
The young Void Hunter had finally met someone that she could test her strength against without any of the suffocating pretenses that marred her usual training matches- and this new lack of restriction filled her with a sense of freedom.
Maybe it was because she had gotten so used to her position at the top of the food chain, but Miyabi hadn't noticed how truly stifled she felt during battle until she cut loose that one time against Illya.
Thus, she hoped that this training match would be one of many to come.
Miyabi exhaled and assumed her position on the training field- her eyes locked on Illya's form.
The other Void Hunter was in the process of assembling something from his duffel bag... A weapon.
Igla.
Igla was the weapon that Illya had primarily used during his more active days.
Because of the rather unforgiving range of his explosions, during team missions, he had to use something a little more controllable.
Most of the time, he'd just use his fists to turn ethereals into swiss cheese, but with the occasional notorious ethereal, sometimes his two meat mallets wouldn't cut it.
Thus, Illya commissioned the first weapon that he would ever wield: Igla.
Igla was a weapon of Sunbringer's design, one that would still allow Illya to take advantage of his diabolical energy output while minimizing the amount of collateral damage he'd cause.
It was a large mace weapon with a shaft long enough to make it seem like a javelin, and it was constructed of a rare heavy-duty Etheric metal created by Helios Academy.
Igla's name derives from the gimmick at the core of its design.
Since some Ethereals possessed shells that were naturally resistant to striking-type weapons, the centre of the Mace was equipped with a pile-driver-like mechanism that would launch a large spike rod from its tip.
The penetrative force of the 'Needles' Igla launched was proportional to the amount of Ether Illya poured into the weapon, though, if too much were to be pushed into the 'Needles', they would rapidly disintegrate from ether corruption.
Regardless, it was no exaggeration to claim that Igla was the weapon Illya was the most proficient with using.
(Picture here.)
And as such, it was the only weapon that Illya felt comfortable enough to use against someone like Miyabi.
Anyway
Illya didn't take much longer to finish up his preparations, and soon, he stood mirroring Miyabi's position.
"I'm ready whenever you are."
Miyabi drew Tailless as Illya readied Igla, both assuming their respective stances.
"Huh~ Then please receive my strike!"
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(A/N: Honestly, I can't really say that this was my best work.
In my defense, I was trying my hardest not to violently shit my pants while writing this, but if I feel like I need to rewrite this chapter, I probably will.
Also, sidenote- I won my 50/50 for Ju Fufu and I got her W-enginge too!
Long live Yunkui~
Anyway, tell me what you guys think about this chapter, and if it's overwhelmingly negative, I'll rewrite it when I get the chance.
P.S.- We hit the powerstone goal, so I owe you a bonus chapter.
See you guys next time!)